Chilean activist asks Canadians to remember the "other September 11"

EDMONTON - As people around the world look back on last year's terrorist attacks in the United States, a Chilean activist is urging Canadians not to forget the horror of the "other September 11."

Viviana Diaz, President of the Association of the Relatives of the Disappeared in Chile, is on a cross-Canada speaking tour aimed at reminding people of the military coup that took place in her country on September 11, 1973.

During that coup, terrorists bombed the Chilean Parliament buildings, assassinated the elected president, Salvador Allende, and toppled Allende's popular government. Thousands of people were killed on that day and in the 17 years of military dictatorship that followed. Thousands of others "disappeared" and remain unaccounted for today.

WHAT: News Conference to Discuss the "Other September 11"WHO: Association of the Relatives of the Disappeared in ChileWHEN: 11:30 am, Tuesday, September 24WHERE: CUPE 474 Boardroom, 10989-124 Street, Edmonton

As part of her visit to Edmonton, Diaz will meet with many of the hundreds of Chileans who settled in Edmonton after fleeing or being exiled from their homeland. She will also hold a news conference on Tuesday, September 24 to review the history of the "other September 11" and give an update on efforts to uncover what really happened to the "disappeared."

"Americans often talk about September 11 as an attack on freedom and democracy," says Ramon Antipan, an activist from Edmonton's Chilean community. "But September 11, 1973 was even more devastating to the people of Chile. It robbed them of their freedom and it destroyed their democratic system - which, at the time, was the oldest and most stable democracy in South America."

In addition to her news conference, Diaz will participate in a special reception and seminar at the Stanley Milner Library Theatre at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 24. Her visit to Edmonton is co-sponsored by the Chilean-Canadian Community of Edmonton, the Stanley Milner Library, the University of Alberta's International Association and the Alberta Federation of Labour.